Natural Birth Story!
On Thursday, February 5th, we had our second doctor?s appointment of the week. I woke up feeling crampy, hoping that that was a good sign! We had an ultrasound first to check the fluid levels and everything was great. I also had a non-stress test to make sure baby was reactive, and that was fine, too. Lastly, we saw Dr. Graves, and she said she was very worried about the baby?s size. My fundal height was 44 (meaning baby was measuring 44 weeks). She stripped my membranes again, told me I was still 4 centimeters dilated, and reluctantly I scheduled an induction for Monday, February 9th. The rest of the day I spent with my mom ? we had lunch at Cheddar?s and then walked around Kohl?s. Back at her house, I took a nap until Eric came over from work. We had Outback Steakhouse for dinner and back at home I took a bath, we watched tv, and went to bed. It seemed like another normal night.
I woke up at 1:34 and I was feeling contractions. I had to go to the bathroom, too. After that, I laid back down and felt like I was wetting the bed, so I got up to go to the bathroom, and sure enough, my water was trickling out. I sat on the toilet for a long while going to the bathroom some more, then laid down in bed and tried to relax. I kept shaking because I was nervous and knew that this was it. We called our doula, Dori, and she started to head over. On her way, she got another call from a client saying that she was in the car on the way to the hospital and feeling like she needed to push. So Dori got to our house and promptly left after making sure I was okay to go attend to her other client. I felt fine about it because I felt like it was going to be awhile. For the next 3 hours, I stayed in bed breathing, and I also threw up. Not so much fun.
We left for the hospital around 4:30 because my contractions were 3 to 5 minutes apart and lasting over a minute. I had 6 contractions in the car on the way to the hospital ? NOT fun. There was a wheelchair waiting for me when we arrived and I was wheeled over to registration. Once that was over I had to get undressed and wait in triage while they asked me a bunch of questions, checked my dilation (still 4 cm), and put in my IV. I only had fluids ? no pitocin or anything.
Finally got to my labor room around 6am and my doula showed up at 7am. I continued to breathe and try to relax, although it wasn?t easy! And the stupid heart and contraction monitors kept losing the signal every time I moved. I really preferred lying down to walking around, and I didn?t want anyone to touch me. The nurse came in to check me again around 9:30 and I was 9 cm! It was a great feeling! I was allowed to start pushing between 10 and 10:30.
A lot of people have told me that when you labor naturally, once you begin pushing it actually feels good! Well, to an extent I agree with them ? pushing took my mind off of the contractions. They didn?t hurt anymore, but pushing did not feel better, either. I was afraid I was going to rip apart! Eric held one leg back and my doula held the other. My doctor told me that I was an efficient pusher and even clapped a few times! Since she was worried about his size, she said that once the head was out, she wanted me flat on my back. So, that?s just what happened! His head came out, they put my bed back, and within a matter of seconds he was all the way out. It all seemed surreal ? there was the baby that had been growing inside of me for 9 months. I just kept saying ?Oh, my God!? over and over and I cried and Eric cried and it was all very mushy. 
) Duncan William?s Apgars were 9 and 9 and he was born at 11:32 am. He weighed 9 lbs 7 ozs and was 21.5 inches long. Big, beautiful baby.
I had a 3rd degree tear, so the doctor had to ?work? on me for about 20 minutes. It wasn?t comfortable, but I didn?t care because I had a baby! We attempted breastfeeding right away, although he didn?t eat much. My mom came in a little while later and we both cried when we saw each other. More gushiness. ) I stayed in that room for about an hour and was wheeled to my postpartum room around 1:00, I think. I was HUNGRY. The nurses kept setting things on me (like clipboards and things) thinking I was numb, but I didn?t have an epidural! I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom myself. It was a good feeling.
The rest of recovery has been going well. I have had episodes of crying, but that?s to be expected. It is very overwhelming to realize that we now have a life that we are in control of and we have to make sure he is okay. We are learning new things every day. Breastfeeding is a challenge, but we are working on it, and baby Duncan is almost back up to his birth weight as of 6 days after his birth. Eric is an amazing father already and I am so excited to see what the future holds for us ? for all 3 of us. )
Re: Natural Birth Story!
Congrats on the birth of your son, lovely story. I am so inspired by the natural birth ones! I hope to someday add my own!
[url=http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers][img]http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt1a1ae8.aspx[/img][/url]
Great story. Congratulations, I am hoping to go natural some day as well and this story is very inspiring.
Congratulations, Katherine! I didn't realize you were on the Bump! I'm so glad you got the birth you wanted -- it gives me hope to see women who have things go like they hope!
And Duncan is beautiful! You are a beautiful mommy and beautiful family!
The hospital that I went to is not known for its friendliness toward natural births - it's the only hospital in Louisville that has a NICU, and as a result all of the high risk babies are sent there. The c-section rate is also really high. Of all their births, only about 2% are natural. However, things went better than expected - I could have argued about having the fluids instead of just a heparin lock; and I could have argued about wanting to walk around instead of being forced to stay in bed ... but I didn't want to walk around and I honestly felt like I needed the fluids. I didn't want to move, so I know that I wouldn't have gotten enough fluids with just water and/or ice chips. There were small things that I could have gotten upset over, but my doctor was onboard with the natural birth and knew that's what I wanted. Overall, I wouldn't change anything.
Photo/Family Blog